‘Dear David': That Buzzfeed Ghost Story We Said Should Be a Movie Is Gonna Be a Movie (Podcast)

We totally called this: “Dear David,” the viral ghost story from former BuzzFeed writer Adam Ellis, is being developed for the big screen.

Each week on our “Shoot This Now” podcast, we talk about different stories that should be made into films. In February, TheWrap film reporter Beatrice Verhoeven made the case for bringing “Dear David” to the screen, and this week, she exclusively broke the news that it’s actually happening. You can listen to our brand-new podcast about all the “Dear David” drama on Apple or right here:

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Ellis’ story began with this tweet on Aug. 7, 2017:

“My apartment is currently being haunted by the ghost of a dead child and he’s trying to kill me.”

In subsequent tweets, Ellis presented what he said was digital evidence of a boy with part of his head missing — a boy he addresses with the words “Dear David.” He said the boy has worried him and his cats, and followed him as far as Japan. Ellis amassed more than 1 million Twitter followers eager to see where the story would go.

Who is making the sure-to-be-terrifying “Dear David” film? BuzzFeed and Ellis struck a deal to bring the project to market in partnership with Rideback. Mike Van Waes is attached as the writer, based on a story by Van Waes and Evan Turner. You can read the full story here.

Here’s our original “Shoot This Now” podcast from February about why “Dear David” should be a movie. You can listen on Apple or right here: